Metro Council members may need mediation

After a legislative fight with Councilwoman Karen Bennett on the Metro Council floor Tuesday night, Councilwoman Pam Murray apparently got home, opened a letter from Bennett and dashed off an epistle of her own to Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors.

Murray is asking for a meeting with Neighbors over what she calls Bennett’s “intentional intimidation.” Meanwhile, NewsChannel 5 reported Tuesday night that Bennett had filed a police report accusing Murray of “verbal intimidation.”

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Bennett successfully stopped Murray after Murray tried to defer a controversial bill instead of holding a public hearing on it. When Murray said she still didn’t want to hold the hearing, she was forced to withdraw the legislation, though she promised to bring it back.

The bill would have provided an exception for Cleveland Street in Murray’s East Nashville district so mobile vendors could operate there. Bennett, who represents an adjoining district, was helping people who opposed the exception and felt Murray wasn’t responsive – perhaps because she spends a fair amount of time working in Detroit while legally residing here.

Neighbors said she and council attorney Jon Cooper would sit down soon with Bennett and Murray to “talk these issues through.”

“We don’t need to be getting into personal attacks,” the vice mayor said.

I’ve left a message with Bennett to see what she has to say about Murray’s letter, which the council office sent to all council members this morning.